Sound and Silence
-Since the new orders have been pouring in, fueled by Megatron's grief-turned-rage, Silence has made herself scarce. It's less about prudence and more about straight up fear. All these large, angry beings stomping and tromping around has made her very nervous. So, she's been hiding. Likely Ravage and Laserbeak would have little trouble finding her, but the general population of the Forge probably doesn't even know she's here. Today, as usual, she is hiding. This time she's in the Repair Bay, tucked into a sparsely used cabinet. -Soundwave has been busy, but not so busy that he is unaware of the ststus of his charges- and Silence is definitely one of them. He was away on some errands, but returns now to receive an update from Laserbeak- including the notification on Silence's whereabouts. Hmm. The outlier nods, sending the condor back off for more monitoring, then strides into the Repair Bay. He opens the cabinet. "Silence, I have returned." -The next thing Soundwave knows, he'll have a face full of Silence as she throws a hug around his head/neck. "You were gone a long time," she says; her old master rarely left her alone for so long. "I'm glad you're back." Even though she doesn't really know him that well, he's the only really friendly face here...uh...despite the fact she can't actually see much of his face. "Everyone has been very angry; so I've been keeping out of the way." Pause. "I don't want to get kicked." -The optics under Soundwave's red visor open widely in surprise as Silence leaps up to hug him. He pulls back a little, bringing his arms up to hold the small femme's weight. He doesn't try pulling her away, instead basically returning the hug as he senses her upset- and hears it. "Apologies... I had errands. I shall be here for awhile now." Finally, he attempts- gently- to pull her away so that he can look at her. "...Yes, there have been.... changes recently. People died here and it has caused some anger. You are safe with me." -Silence doesn't cling too tightly now that she's expressed her appreciation for his return. She climbs more fully out of the cabinet and politely closes the door behind her. "When my Master died...I was sad and scared, but not angry. But I'm such a little person; maybe bigger people feel anger more than I do," she says a little mournfully. "I'm sorry people died. Who were they?" He will sense the intense relief simply at being /told/ she is safe and she relaxes visibly -Soundwave places a hand on her shoulder, sensing that she needs that comfort. "Size does not matter, but experiences colors perception- and emotions." He pauses, mentally scanning the area to make sure they are alone. Unlike most he doesn't need to turn his head and LOOK. "One of the Decepticons. A medic named Ruiner, who worked in this very Medbay. He was captured by Autobots and a virus placed inside his head- one that ultimately killed him. People are...justifiably upset by this treachery, and are preparing to stop those who did this to him." -Silence's optics widen. "That's horrible? Why would anyone /do/ that?" she asks. "Master died when something fell on him, but no one /tried/ to kill him." Or so she believes. "And aren't medics supposed to heal people? Why would someone kill a healer?" She really knows nothing about the political arena; her ignorance was carefully cultivated by Pigment. -Soundwave gives her shoulder another gentle squeeze before he removes it to walk over to a chair and sit down, where he can face her optic to optic a little bit better- and perhaps look a little less intimidating. "Yes, medics are healers. But this medic was a Decepticon, and Autobots hate Decepticons. They saw an opportunity to hurt the decepticons by killing this medic- and they did. But he will not go unavenged, and the guilty will pay for their crimes." He shakes his head. "These are the people we are up against. They have power, and power has corrupted them. We must take that power from them, so they can't contuinue to abuse that power." -Silence nods her little head slowly as she stands there, looking at the rather impassive seeming mech. "Well, I don't really want to hurt anyone. Then again, there's not much I can do to most people...except spray them with paint. I don't think that would be very effective," she says. According to functionist law, there would be no reason for her to have weapons. That, combined with her small size, makes her currently rather defenseless. "But these Autobots sound awful; I'm glad they didn't find me there, all alone." -Soundwave nods. "The Decepticons have formed together to fight the Senate and the Autobots. It will not be an easy fight, but it is a worthwhile one." His expression might seem to soften a little- at least what little of it is visible. "They would not find you here. Here in the Forge you are safe- for now. Besides, you are not completely alone... I had some of my friends watching you." -Silence smiles at this, the expression uninhibited. It's hard to tell how old she actually is, but she had never been socially conditioned like most 'mature' individuals to hide her emotions. "I thought I saw shadows sometimes," she says. "But there was one mech who saw me; he said I didn't belong. So I didn't want anyone else to say that and maybe make me leave." She goes into a brief description of someone who pretty much could only be Starscream, especially because she describes him being with a blue mech that looked mostly the same. -Soundwave hmmms. Yes, he already got the mental picture before she even described the Seeker. "I will... have a word with Starscream." Arms cross and he looks at her. "The next time anyone questions you, or says you do not belong, tell them that you are under my protection. That should be enough to stop them pestering you further." His head titls a little. "However... would you like to belong...officially?" -Silence tilts her head one way, then the other. "I'm not sure what use I would be. I just paint people. Paint doesn't stop the forces of evil," she says, perhaps a bit dramatically. Black and white, just like her paint. Autobots must be evil if they plant things in peoples' heads to kill them, right? -"Perhaps not," Soundwave replies, "But you had another talent." He pauses, thinking back. "That... filtering you do, of sound and thought. You have a gift. Your name is quite apt. And that function, that talent of yours.... could be useful, especially to me." -Silence nods her head a few times in quick succession. "You're right," she says. "I don't think much about it because, well, it's not something that people can easily see or touch. Sometimes people don't even notice it's there." Her powers are subtle, even if she isn't. At least Soundwave's companions would be able to tell him that when she /is/ hiding, she can be as silent and still as a turbo-mouse. "Just as long as people don't want me to fight, because, I don't know how and I don't have the size, or strength, or weapons. And..." she pauses, "I'm scared of fights." -"One doesn't have to fight in order to be useful," Soundwave replies. "For example, I fight very little. My skills are subtle- but very useful. They are... similar to yours, in a sense. People do not notice what I do- but I notice everything they do." -The little femme's relief can be felt. "I'll do what I can then," she says. "I'm good at following detailed instructions, once I'm told how to do something," she says with some degree of pride. "Art is very intricate, so I have to be able to follow things to the tiniest dot." -"Affirmative." Soundwave nods. "Art requires much skill. An artist must pay careful attention to each stroke or placement or note, and must be able to take care with individual things while creating a harmonious whole." He adds, "Your other skill also takes care, and could help me with my talent. Together we could be individual components creating a highly functioning, harmonious whole. And together we could work on taking down the Autobots so that they can not hurt anyone ever again. But to do that, you would need to join the Decepticons." -"I will, if that's okay," Silence says. She's never joined anything before, so she's uncertain, more about the process of belonging to a group than what the group stands for specifically. But Soundwave will understand this with his talents. If Silence was canny, she could try to shut him out with her own abilities, but she doesn't think that way. Not yet at any rate. -Soundwave is aware of this, too, and it is yet another reason to have her as his ally. If she was his enemy, she could actually be a problem for him. But she is a mere innocent- and she needs his help. "It is Okay, yes. I can present you with your very own badge, in fact. But first- do you swear loyalty to Megatron, the leader of our cause?" -"Um..." Silence thinks about this. "Can I swear loyalty to someone I've never met before?" she asks. It's an innocent enough question; she isn't a crafty person. In many ways, she's the complete antithesis of Starscream, honest, completely unguarded, and humble. -Soundwave replies, "You do not have to. If you would like, you could meet him first. But you will need to be loyal to him to become a Decepticon. He is our leader, and I trust him completely." -Silence fidgets slightly. "I've just never had to; I mean, I've always met people I've done anything with or for," she says. She lowers her voice. "Is he likely to yell at me?" Now, how are you going to answer that one? -Soundwave considers this. "...Right now, he is upset. He was angered by the loss of this medic, as were many of us. It has not been easy. I do not think he would yell at you, no. But he might be... a little brusque. He has much on his mind, and much to deal with." -Silence nods her head. "Well, I don't want to bother him then. If you ask him, and he says it's okay, then everything will be okay." And she believes this. After all, if her old master told her something was allowed, then it was allowed. End of story. Silence probably has a lot of spark ache to look forward to in her future; it's a good thing she doesn't know this yet. -Soundwave nods. "Then I will ask. In the meantime, as I stated before- should you encounter any difficulties from anyone, tell them that you are under the protection of Soundwave. You should be safe then." -Silence seems to accept this. "I will tell them that then," she says. Given something tangible to do about the problems makes her feel better. Her emotions are bright and clear with very little blurring, very little duplicity. Decepticon will be quite a misnomer for her. But that part isn't as important as her willingness to HELP. -"Good." Soundwave then stands, placing the chair back under a table. "Becoming a Decepticon will be the first step towards helping us stop the Autobots from abusing power." He pauses, considering her a moment. "There is another thing you might consider. If you...wish to /truly/ be one of my ...team. I have a small team of cassettes- they fit inside here.." He getsures towards his chest. "I can carry them, keep them... safe." He titls his ehad slightly. "I... could make you a tape, like them, and you could come with me." He pauses again. "It is not something I expect an aswer to immediately- it is simply a possibility for your consideration." -Being carried with someone means not being seperated unduly. That sounds like a good idea to Silence. "If your Megatron says it's okay for me to join, then I think I would like that." It also means she will be like others, which means, she is not a singular being, but part of something that is important to He Who Saved Her. -Soundwave smiles just slightly under his faceplate. He, too, likes to be part of a group, to not be alone. The carrier nature of the mech means he wants to gather his "flock" together and keep them safe. "Then I will be glad to make you one of us." Literally, in this case. "As family, we are never alone." -Silence nods her head. "Family; it's a beautiful word," she says wistfully. Even better than what she had with her Master...